Here’s what Luke reported as he observed the activity of the church in Jerusalem just days after the Holy Spirit came on Pentecost: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” (Acts 2:42)
A pretty impressive list! One worth studying. One worth adopting!
The church spent time listening to these closest of Jesus’ followers. They took their words to heart as if they were direct messages from God. They believed the truths. They obeyed the commands. The Holy Spirit, working through the first leaders, brought hundreds, even thousands into the church. People’s lives were changed! The church thrived! The whole known world was changed!
If the church today is to succeed as that church did, we too must be devoted to the apostles’ teaching! Understand! That means the Old and New Testaments! In fact, the words the apostles referenced when they shared the good news were all from the Old Testament! They proved that Jesus was the Savior by pointing to the words of the prophets. They said over and over, “He fulfilled the prophecies! He is the one! Don’t miss him!”
Today, we have an advantage the first believers didn’t have. We each can have a written – or should I say printed? – copy of the content of the apostles’ message. We can study the Bible for ourselves. We can hear God speak through it anytime, anywhere.
We in America have the freedom to own copies of the Bible, to read it and -think about it, to assemble and talk about it together. Don’t take these things for granted. Be devoted to the apostles’ teaching. Spend time reading it. Listen to God as you do so. Obey what he says!
-Sign up for my regular email list by sending a blank email to knowthetruth-join@freegroups.net.
-Sign up for my regular email list by sending a blank email to knowthetruth-join@freegroups.net.
1 comment:
To stay sane, eh?
I've been fascinated since I started blogging about how many people have such strong opinions about every imaginable subject in the universe - even those with which they have no experience.
At any rate, hope that the net experience is a positive one for you. Nice blog work. I came across your blog while “blog surfing” using the Next Blog button on the Nav Bar located at the top of my blogger.com site. I frequently just travel around looking for other blogs which exist on the Internet, and the various, creative ways in which people express themselves. Thanks for sharing.
Post a Comment